Secrets, Lies, and Blood
by ariella411
Summary: Niklaus, Elijah, and Kol once fell for the same girl, Margaret Nocella. When she returns to Mystic Falls over a millennium later with her daughter in tow, trouble is sure to follow. This is a story full of secrets, lies, and blood! Stefan/OC/Damon. Kol/OC/Elijah/Niklaus.
1. Chapter 1

_**I decided to do a rewritten version of Secrets, Lies, and Blood. Hope you like this one just as much as the old one.**_

**Kingdom Come**

Clarice shuts her eyes and places her fingers on her temples. She massages her head slowly but firmly. Seeing the "Welcome to Mystic Falls" sign causes her to cringe in her seat. The memories fight to enter her mind and she struggles to push them further away. She cannot start thinking about her past. Not now. Not here.

Margaret looks over at her only daughter. She observes the brown haired blue-eyed girl closely. Clarice's curls moves with the wind coming through the car's open window. Margaret runs her hand through her own hair and tries to think of a subject that would interest her daughter. Nothing comes to mind though. She hates to admit it but her daughter is nothing like her. She never has been.

"_Do it. You must if you want to live." Margaret sighs as she paces in front of the nearly dead man lying on the floor. Clarice looks from the stranger to her mother._

"_Now you are giving me a choice?" Clarice asks in disbelief._

"_No. I'm giving you a chance to make the right choice on your own." Margaret clarifies. The man starts to fidget on the dirt floor. Clarice kneels by his side, the blood in his veins tempting her. She knows he is not from their village. Her mother probably grabbed him from a few towns over._

"_I never wanted this. I never wanted to become this." Clarice mutters. Less than two hours ago, her mother unknowingly fed her vampire blood and ran a dagger through her heart._

"_But I did. I want to give you the life you deserve." Margaret kneels next to her daughter and cups her face in her hands. "Everlasting beauty. Everlasting life."_

_The blood pumping through this man's body a foot away from the transitioning vampire becomes too much. She leans down to his ear and lowers her voice to a whisper. "I am truly sorry. May God forgive me."_

_Clarice runs her fingers over the open wound on the man's neck. The blood encases her fingertips and she places them to her lips. The second her tongue touches the blood, she feels her canine teeth elongate and the veins stretch out from beneath her reddened eyes._

The houses go by in a blur as their car speeds down the street. When they enter the town center Clarice slumps down in her seat. Living in a small town has its perks, like you can walk almost everywhere, and its drawbacks, like everyone knowing when someone new moves in. Clarice doesn't feel up to playing twenty questions today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after.

The car wheels screech as they pull into the lengthy driveway leading to a secluded house. They park in front of the newly added small fountain located in the middle of the lot at the end of the driveway. Clarice observes the outside of the large house quietly. She recognized it as the most recent home they had owned in Mystic Falls. The house has remained practically the same since the duo left many years ago. The off-white bricks and the wooden shutters still give a cozy demeanor. Margaret does not hesitate to get out of the car unlike Clarice. Clarice has to take a deep breath before swinging the car door open. She steps out onto the cement driveway and pushes the door shut behind her. She joins her mother by the trunk and grabs the three bags and guitar case she had packed. Clarice slings them over her shoulder and arms and walks towards the front door. Margaret pulls the keys out of her pocket and fits it into the lock.

As expected the furnishings inside have been replaced with modernized versions. Clarice starts up the stairs to the room that used to belong to her. She opens the door and walks into the room steadily. The formerly white walls are now a light creamy blue. The rest of the room is decorated with accenting furniture. She can see that the creamy blue, a light brown, and a calm yellow are the room's new color scheme. Clarice moves straight to the bed. While the covers have been changed to match the bedroom color, she recognizes the bed frame. She runs her finger over the corner of the mattress.

"_We should stop. Everyone is probably wondering where we went." Clarice says to the man on top of her._

"_Yeah. Okay." He smiles as he lets out a sigh. He rolls off of Clarice and lies on his back for a minute letting the two of them catch their breath._

"_We should do this again sometime." Clarice winks flirtatiously._

"_It's a date." The man leans in for one more kiss. He cannot fight the feeling of wanting to be closer to the girl lying beside him._

Clarice shakes the memory out of her head and drops her bags on the bed. She walks into the attached bathroom and pulls her curly hair into a high ponytail. The cold water feels good on her face as she splashes herself and it does the job of bringing her back to the present. She studies her soft facial features and can admit one thing; she looks drained. She adjusts her hair into a lower bun, allowing a few curls to fall around her face.

She moves to the bedroom once again and unpacks quickly. Clarice is usually very organized, but for the time being, she just throws her clothes into random drawers of the dresser pushed up against the wall. She drops the a small number of shoes she has into the closet and hangs the few dresses she owns. Clarice slides her guitar under her bed for safekeeping until she can find a way to hang it on the wall like she had in her last bedroom.

Margaret listens to her daughter move around her room quietly. The footsteps are so silent that if it weren't for her vampire hearing, Margaret would never be able to tell when her daughter entered or left a room. Margaret starts to color code her wardrobe as she sorts through her bags. The rest of her clothes will be arriving in a few days along with the spare cars and a few valuable items.

Clarice likes her redecorated bedroom. She closes the blinds on the two windows located on both sides of the bed and places her lapis lazuli necklace onto the dresser. She tosses the throw pillows onto the floor beside her bed and climbs onto it. She pulls a single pillow under head lifting it slightly and it doesn't take long for her eyelids to get heavy.

"Clarice, we cannot waste our time with sleep." Margaret sighs loudly as she enters the bedroom. Clarice replies with a glare.

"Come on, dear. Up and at 'em." Margaret says as she flings open one of the blinds. Clarice jumps up and runs to the one dark corners of the room.

"I'm not wearing my necklace." Clarice tells her mom gesturing to the dresser.

"Why aren't you wearing it?" Margaret grabs the piece of jewelry and takes it to her daughter.

" Because I wanted to be reminded of what it felt like to get a second-degree burn." Clarice clasps the necklace around her neck and walks back to the bed. Her mom sits down next to her.

"Can you please act like you want to be here for once?" Margaret takes Clarice's hand in hers.

"Why did we have to come back here? Here, of all places." Clarice looks at her mom. Mystic Falls is the one place her past is certain to catch up with her. It's only a matter of time.

"We had a good life here at one point. I just want that for us again." Margaret admits. Clarice sighs, not wanting to remind her mother of what she had done.

"After what happened, I don't think we can ever get back to that."

"We can try, Clarice. We have to try." Margaret stands and places a light kiss on her daughter's forehead before leaving the room.

"Great." Clarice falls onto her back. She already knows how the next few days are going to go.

"Oh, and your starting at Mystic Falls high school once summer is over." Margaret pokes her head back into the room. Clarice pushes herself up onto her elbows.

"Are you kidding me?" Clarice asks in disbelief.

"It will help…" Margaret starts.

"…me integrate into society?" Clarice can't help but roll her eyes. Her mother uses the same excuse every time. "I have graduated high school more than a hundred times. I don't need another degree."

"Just be ready when summer ends." Margaret mutters. "Do you want to go out to eat?"

"When you say that do you mean go out to eat food or go out for a drink?" Clarice crosses her arms over her chest.

"Does that matter?" Margaret sighs and places a hand on her hip.

"We just ate two towns over. You drained two people, mom." Clarice reminds her.

"Fine." Maggie gives in. "We'll go to a restaurant."

Clarice grabs her phone before walking out of her room. Margaret is already waiting in the car by the time she gets outside. She slips into the passenger side seat and looks out the window as her mother pulls out of the driveway.

It's almost funny how many different store signs manage to have the word "Mystic" in the title. The darkening skies don't make it any harder to locate the cleverly named shops. Clarice counts six by the time they reach the Mystic Grill making her total seven. She rubs her necklace between her fingertips hoping that she will not see anybody from her past. Margaret gets out of the car and walks confidently into the cozy restaurant/bar. She smiles at a couple of the waiters before sitting at a random booth. Clarice joins her a minute later, looking slightly gloomy. Margaret leans over the wooden table and lowers her voice to a whisper.

"You should smile every once and a while, Clarice. It will help you make friends."

"I had friends. In Florida." Clarice whispers a response.

"We're here to start over, to move on." Margaret's face becomes stern.

"I know the drill, mom." Clarice's eyes meet Margaret's.

"_Here." Margaret hands Clarice her traveling bags. "We have to go, tonight."_

"_We just finished unpacking! What happened?" Clarice takes the bags from her mother and throws them on the bed behind her frustrated. She's not ready to leave again._

"_We need another fresh start. Someplace new." Margaret answers before leaving Clarice's room without a further explanation. Clarice flops down on her bed and lets out an audible groan. Her mother can be infuriating._

"I'm going to the bathroom." Clarice stands from the table.

Clarice doesn't wait for her mother to answer. She heads to right side of the restaurant and enters the public bathroom. She never needed to use the bathroom; she just needed an excuse to get away from her mom. Margaret was acting like nothing had ever happened and her nonchalant attitude was starting to get on Clarice's nerves. She places both of her hands on either side of the sink and drops her head. She rubs her lips together and closes her eyes.

When she hears a toilet flush, she stands upright and turns on the faucet. She washes her hands under the running water while a girl uses the sink next to her. Once the anonymous girl finishes she starts towards the door to leave.

"Are you okay?" The teenager's hand rests on the door handle. Clarice sighs noiselessly before turning to the young woman. She feels like her head is about to explode when she sees who asked the question.

"Katherine?"

_"You have to promise not to tell anyone!" Katherine's eyes narrowed. "Promise!"_

_"I promise. But why can't I tell…?" Clarice starts to question._

_"Nobody! You can't tell anybody, not even your mother." Katherine takes a step towards Clarice and points a slim finger at her chest._

_"Fine." Clarice bites her lip and sits on her bed._

_"I promise I wont let anybody use it against you. You will always be my sister." Katherine's face lightens. She takes Clarice's hands in hers and sits on the bed next to hers. Clarice wishes that Katherine would show more people her friendly side._

_"Always is a long time."_

_"I know." One of Katherine's rare smiles appears on her lips. Clarice closes her eyes and when they open, Katherine is gone. She is aware of the significance of this newly discovered secret. This is one that she must take to her grave._

"No." The girl looks scared. Not an ordinary trait for Katherine Pierce. "You must be mistaken"

"I'm sorry. You reminded me of an old…" Clarice searches for the right word. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

Clarice moves past Katherine and makes a beeline for the booth her mother is still seated at. She grits her teeth as she tries to decide on what she should tell Margaret, if anything at all.

"You look like you just saw a ghost." Margaret throws Clarice a suspicious look.

"The bathroom was out of soap." Clarice gives a lame excuse. She shakes it off quickly. "Did you order for me?"

"Yes. A simple salad." Margaret takes a drink of the light brown liquid in her cup. Clarice doesn't even want to worry about how much her mother drinks tonight. She covertly looks around the restaurant, trying to locate Katherine.

"What is with you today?" Margaret stares obviously concerned.

"I'm just nervous to be back, that's all." Clarice tries to turn all of her attention to the lunch she is having with her mom but running into Katherine stays at the back of her mind.

Clarice's food lands in front of her with a quiet thud but because she was trying to zone in on any voice that might have sounded like Katherine, the sudden noise surprises her. She looks up at the young waiter and thanks him. Margaret notices how attractive the boy is and she starts to make her move. If he doesn't respond to her, at least she can try to get her daughter a hot date.

"How old are you?" Margaret questions. The waiter looks at both of the women sitting before him. He tucks the serving tray under his arm.

"I'm eighteen." He answers. Clarice takes a bite of her food but her focus is on everybody around her. If that girl was Katherine, she can't let her get away.

"What a coincidence? My daughter, Clarice, is seventeen." Margaret gestures to the younger girl sitting across from her. "She'll be starting at the high school in a couple of days. What is your name?"

"Matt." He replies. He tries not to question how this mother-daughter pair can look so close in age.

"You're going to be a senior?" Matt nods and Margaret smiles at her daughter. "Clary will be too."

Clarice looks up at the second mention of her name. "Sorry?"

"I was just telling this young man that it was quite the coincidence that you two will be in your senior year at Mystic Falls." Margaret eyes her daughter. Saying that Clarice seems on edge would be an understatement.

"That's wonderful." Clarice stops short when she sees the girl from the bathroom starting to leave the restaurant.

"It was great meeting you, but if you could excuse me, I have to... pee" Clarice explains with a smile as she slides out of the booth and hurries across the restaurant. She reaches Katherine before the she can leave.

"We need to talk." Clarice grabs her arm lightly. Katherine turns around with a curious look on her face but it falls when she sees it is the girl she had just met.

"Who are you?" Katherine looks confused.

"The better question is why are you here, Katherine?" Clarice crosses her arms over her chest. She's prepared to deal with Katherine's manipulative ways.

"I'm not Katherine! I'm Elena."

"No. You're Katherine." Clarice wraps her hand around the girl's neck and runs her into the bathroom. "And you're going to pay for what you did."

She starts to squeeze Katherine's throat steadily and listens as her breaths start to become strained. Katherine squirms but isn't able to break the hold. Her strength seems to be diminished.

When the sudden headache hits, Clarice releases Katherine. She falls to the floor in agony as the pain spreads through her head. She feels like it's about to explode and her hands clasp around the side of her face, hoping for the pain to stop soon.

"Bonnie, stop!" Katherine yells. The pain vanishes almost immediately. Clarice stands as she catches her breath and finds herself facing another mysterious girl. She doesn't have to be told that this girl is a witch.

"I'm not Katherine." The look alike says. "I'm Elena, her doppelganger."

Clarice realizes the differences she had missed before. For one, this girl standing before her is not wearing the recognizable lapis lazuli necklace that Katherine owns. She also sees that this girl isn't wearing her hair in the signature Katherine curls. Clarice purses her lips and walks past the girls. She exits the restaurant without even glancing at her mother. Clarice knows that Margaret will contact her when she realizes her daughter hasn't returned.

Clarice starts down the street not affected by the crisp night air. She pushes one of her loose curls behind her ear and out of her face. She hugs her bare elbows over her chest as she walks mimicking the reaction of being cold. Clarice regrets how she acted in the Grill. She almost let her need for revenge get the better of her and that girl was nearly killed because of it. She had thought she had learned to control it.

"_You have to stop!" The man to her left yells. She turns to him with pure amusement in her blue eyes. The fresh blood drips down her chin and onto her neck as she talks._

"_Why? It's called having fun. You should try it sometime, killjoy." Clarice laughs as she spins in a full circle, her bloodied dress whirling around with her. She tilts her head back so her eyes are on the darkened skies above her. "This is the life!"_

"_It's called a massacre." The man sighs as he takes in the carnage that surrounds him. He does not know how he could have let Clarice go this far. Her emotions were the one thing holding her back and now that they are gone, so is the girl he had started to fall in love with._

As she tries to bury all the memories running around in her head a hand flies around Clarice's throat and throws her into the alley to her left. She falls to the floor not having enough time to brace herself. The attacker's silhouette appears in front of her and Clarice attempts to push herself off the floor. She fails and is suddenly tossed against the brick wall to her right. The hand that had thrown her into the alley wraps around her throat once again. She knows this person is a vampire by how much strength he has and the growl growing in his throat. Clarice waits until the unidentified man looks away to take control of the situation. She hears the bones in the aggressor's hand breaks as she grabs hold of him. She clutches his throat and lifts him up into the air. When his back slams into the concrete, she doesn't let go. As Clarice pushes her hand downward towards the concrete, she feels the veins spread out around her eyes and her fangs break out. She snarls at her assailant showing her dominance. When the moonlight hits his face, she finally sees the identity of her attacker. Her breath catches in her throat halting her snarl.

"Stefan?"

**I pushed back where the story starts to Smells Like Teen Spirit and changed some of the storyline. Don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon.**

**~Ariella~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: _I only own my OC's_**

**Hide and Seek**

"_Here." Clarice puts a cup full of blood in front of Stefan before sitting down next to him. His eyes grow wide with worry as he glances from the cup to Clarice. " It's filled with deer blood."_

"_How did you…?" Stefan takes the cup in his hands._

"_Don't ask questions. Just drink." Lennox takes a long drink from the cup in front of her. Stefan cautiously puts the cup to his lips and drinks half of it._

"_Thanks." Stefan says as he wipes some spilled blood from the corner of his mouth. He turns to her and places a light kiss on her lips._

"_Your welcome." Like always, Clarice can't help but smile as Stefan's lips meet hers._

"_I'm going hunting with my mother tonight so don't bother waiting up." Clarice leans over the counter._

"_Clary…" Stefan gives his girlfriend a suspicious look._

"_Six towns over this time." Clarice promises him. Stefan knows that they've had to start being more careful since they all went into hiding._

"_Just be careful, please."_

"_I'm not the one you should be worried about." Clarice taps the bottom of her cup on the tile._

"_She can control herself." Stefan nods his head trying to assure himself._

"_Sometimes. Other times she is just gets caught up in the hunt and looses perspective." Clarice purses her lips. "But I do my best to make sure it doesn't happen every time."_

"_At least she can stop herself if she wants to." Stefan looks over at Clarice. She leans in and kisses him shortly._

"_You should finish that." Clarice gestures to the cup on the counter after she pulls away from him. Stefan finishes his meal and puts the cup in the sink._

"_Thank you, Clarice. For helping me get off of human blood." Stefan murmurs after a minute of silence. Clarice smiles at him lightly._

"_As long as you want you want my help, I will always be here to offer it to you." Clarice nods her head._

_Stefan places his hands on both sides of her face. He pulls her into a long kiss. The irresistible feeling to be closer to Clarice takes over and he picks her up off the stool and speeds her up the stairs to his room. She laughs lightly he shuts the door behind him. Stefan lays her down on the bed and they look into each other's eyes for couple seconds._

"_I love you, Clarice." Stefan whispers._

"_I love you too, Stefan." Clarice responds without hesitation before placing her lips on his again._

"What the hell are you doing here?" Clarice tries to push away the nerves in her stomach.

"That's a good question, for you, Clarice." Stefan crosses his arms over his chest indifferently as he leans against the brick wall.

"My mother made me move back here. Your turn." Clarice responds.

"I've been back for a while now, kind of forgot the reason I moved here again." Stefan eyes narrow suspiciously.

"Is Damon here too?"

"Of course. He wouldn't miss reliving the good old days." Stefan chuckles.

"I never thought I would see you again." Clarice sighs and tucks her hair behind her ears.

"Is that why you really moved back? For me? We did have some great memories here but we were never meant to be together." Stefan shakes his head with a smile. Clarice recovers from the sting his words left and glares at her ex.

"The fondest memory I have of us is me leaving you. Just like I'm about to do now." Clarice turns on her heels and stalks out of the alley.

"Is your mom still a slut?" Stefan calls after her. Clarice speeds over to him and grabs his throat tightly. He starts to squirm as her hold tightens.

"Never talk about my mom like that. She has done what she has had to do to give me a good life." Clarice grits her teeth.

"Sleeping with men for money gave you a good life?" Stefan manages to laugh through the chokehold.

"Go to hell, Stefan." Clarice releases him and starts back out of the alley.

"I would go willingly if your mom could join me down there." Stefan says just loud enough for Clarice to hear.

Her hands form fists at her sides as she takes in what he had just said. She doesn't hesitate to run in front of him and take his face in her hands. Clarice moves her hands in opposite directions. She hears the snap of Stefan's neck before he drops to the floor unconscious. She walks out of the alley without turning back.

* * *

Margaret takes out her phone and dials her daughters number several times before giving up. She pays the bill and leaves the restaurant. She starts to drive home but keeps her eyes open for Clary. When Margaret doesn't find her, she knows that Clarice must have gone home since she doesn't have anywhere else to go in town.

The house is quiet as she walks through the front door and into the foyer. Margaret inspects the kitchen, dining room, and living room before moving up to the second floor. As she open's Clarice's bedroom door, she makes out a long lump on the bed. Margaret sits on the edge of the bed and puts her hand on her daughters shoulder. Clarice turns over to face her mom.

"Are you okay?" Margaret knows that something must be wrong.

"I ran into Stefan, mom." Clarice purses her lips.

"How did that go?" Margaret's eyes narrow with suspicion. She remembers how hard it was for Clarice to leave Stefan in 1864.

"He was acting really different. Like he didn't care about how I felt at all." Clarice explains.

"That doesn't sound like Stefan Salvatore."

"I think his emotions are off. It's the only explanation I could think of." Clarice pushes herself up into sitting position and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Wouldn't he be a ripper again?" Margaret sits next to her daughter after she makes more room for her.

"No. He becomes a ripper because he has too many emotions. If he turned them off, then he'll have more control." Clarice clarifies.

"That's a good thing then."

"Not if it turns him into a jackass." Clarice shakes her head.

"Why don't you try to talk to him again." Margaret suggests with a shrug.

"I'd rather just stay home for a couple of days."

"You can't do that. School starts tomorrow. You can't miss the first day, Clary." Margaret informs her daughter.

"Please. Just talking to him for two minutes got me so angry. I can't face him at school in front of everyone." Clarice pauses. "It will be just for a couple of days, I promise."

"I'm sorry, Clarice. But you have to go." Margaret stands from the bed and walks towards the door but looks back at her daughter for a second. "You'll thank me one day."

"Not any day soon." Clarice mutters after the door closes behind her mother. She slumps back down into her bed and pulls the comforter up over her head. She just wants to sleep until her mother decides it's time to leave town again.

* * *

Clarice parks her car in one of the open parking spots in front of the main office. She pulls the hood of her jacket over her head and keeps her eyes on the floor as she walks towards the school hoping not to see Stefan or Katherine's doppelganger again. Clarice quickly checks in with attendance and gets all of her information and books. By the time she drops off all the things in her locker that she doesn't need for her first class, the period is more than halfway over. She takes a deep breath before walking into the classroom marked with the number on her schedule.

Clarice almost walks right back out of the classroom when she sees Stefan sitting next to Elena, Katherine's doppelganger, but she continues to the teacher sitting at the desk in the middle of the room. He looks up at her and takes the schedule she holds out for him.

"I'm Alaric Saltzman. I typically let everyone sit wherever they like but there is only one open seat today." Mr. Saltzman gestures out to the class. When Clarice looks up she sees that everyone is focused on her. She bites her cheek and thanks her teacher before walking to the only open seat in the back of the class. Usually she likes sitting in the back but since Stefan is in the seat in front of her, she wishes she could sit all the way in the front.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you here." Stefan turns around in his chair. Clarice grits her teeth as she glares at him. She decides not to amuse him and focuses on getting out her pencil and notebook out of her bag.

"So, are you just going to ignore me?" Stefan questions. Clarice opens her notebook and busies herself with writing her first and last name at the top of the paper. She starts copying down the notes written on the chalkboard.

"Are you mad with me because of last night? I was only telling the truth." Stefan shrugs with a grin. Clarice takes a deep breath and places her pencil down on her desk. She leans towards Stefan until their faces are inches apart.

"Unless you want me to snap your neck again in front of all your peers, I would stop talking." Clarice lowers her voice barely above a whisper.

"You wouldn't even think about doing that." Stefan's smile grows wider.

"Oh, really?" Clarice narrows her eyes. She reaches up and grabs his face between her hands and repeats the motion she had done last night. Luckily the snap of his neck isn't very loud so almost no one looks up from their work. Katherine's doppelganger who is sitting to Stefan's left is the only person to turn towards them. Clarice faces Stefan forward and pushes his body down so his upper body is lying on the desk. To anyone else it will look like he fell asleep.

Clarice continues to write in her notebook until the bell rings. She moves out of the class quickly, hoping not to be there when Stefan wakes up. She heads to the locker to get her things for her next class but someone's hand stops her. Clarice turns to face Elena.

"Before you say anything, I just want to apologize for trying to kill you last night." Clarice blurts out quickly.

"It's fine. A lot of people have mistaken me for Katherine before." Elena explains.

"I have to get to class." Clarice gestures over her shoulder. She starts to walk away but Elena stops her again.

"Wait. I was wondering how you know Stefan." Elena steps in front of her. Clarice purses her lips as she debates on how she should respond. She is aware that this girl probably knows about all things supernatural.

"We're old friends." Clarice tries to keep her answer short and to the point. "Why?"

Elena pulls Clarice over to the lockers to her left and leans in slightly. "Because you just snapped his neck in the middle of history class."

"I don't know why I'm telling you this but I knew him before he was turned into a vampire. Our friendship didn't end well and I haven't seen him in over a hundred years." Clarice checks over her shoulder for Stefan or any other eavesdroppers.

"Were you two close?" Elena questions.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Clarice pauses. "Why are asking me all these questions?"

"Tonight is the Back to School Party. I think you should come."

"I'll see if I can make it." Clarice smiles before continuing to her locker. If her mother heard about the party she would definitely make her go. Clarice can't let Margaret find out about the party.

* * *

"Stefan?" Alaric places a light hand on the vampires back. After the bell had rung, he had noticed that Stefan was still bent over his desk.

"Stefan?" Alaric tries to wake him one more time. Suddenly Stefan's head pops up and a look of puzzled appears on his face.

"Where am I?" Stefan glances at Alaric.

"In history. I think you fell asleep in class." Alaric stands up straight and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't sleeping. I was dead." Stefan grabs his jacket off the back of his chair.

"Dead?"

"I ran into an ex. Let's just say she wasn't very happy to see me." Stefan says as he walks out of the room. Alaric stares after him in disbelief and confusion.

Stefan looks around the hallway trying to spot Clarice through all of the teenagers running around. When he sees her talking to Elena he begins to walk towards them. Halfway there the girls part ways and he grabs Elena by the arm as she tries to walk past him.

"What do you want, Stefan?" Elena sighs.

"What did Clary tell you?"

"That's none of your business." Elena responds coldly.

"I suggest you stay away from the her, Elena. She's bad news." Stefan warns her before walking past her. He sees Clarice opening her locker a couple feet away. He leans against the locker next to hers and plasters on a smug grin.

"Really? You want to do this again?" Clarice glares at Stefan as she replaces a couple of books and slams her locker shut. She strides away from him but she can hear him coming after her. Stefan's shoulder bumps into hers causing her books to fall to the ground. Clarice throws Stefan a irritated look before dropping to her knees to collect her belongings.

"It's my job to look after Elena so I can't have you butting into her life and causing trouble." Stefan says as he kneels next to Clarice. He hands her one of the books that was out of her reach.

Clarice stands up once all of her books are in her hands once again. She turns to Stefan and smiles. "I should have known. You're dating Katherine's doppelganger, aren't you? I mean you did fall head over heels in love with the first so why not the second?"

"Just stay away from her." Stefan tells Clarice as he starts off in the opposite direction.

"If it means being farther away from you…" Clarice shrugs. "Fine."

Clarice watches Stefan carry on down the hallway. She lets out the breath she had been holding in for well over a minute. Even though Clarice knows Stefan isn't the same person she fell in love with over a hundred years ago, whenever he looks at her, she feels her heart drop to her stomach. Clarice shakes off the indescribable feelings and continues to her next class.

The rest of the school day passes by quickly. Clarice has managed to avoid having a conversation longer than a few minutes with anybody. Stefan was in three of her five classes but she ignored him easily. Clarice experiences a sense of joy as she walks to her car after her fifth period ends. Luckily she has a free sixth so she can go home without running into Elena or Stefan again.

"Clarice!" Clarice curses under her breath when she hears a girls voice call out her name. She crosses her middle finger over her index finger hoping that when she turns around Elena is not standing before her. Clarice forces a smile when she sees the brunette hurrying to catch up with her.

"Elena." Clarice greets her. Elena slows to a stop a foot from her.

"I know Stefan told you to stay away from me." Elena gestures over her shoulder. When Clarice looks up she sees Stefan leaning casually against a tree nearby and can't stop the sigh that escapes her lips. "But I really need to talk to you about something."

"I don't feel like gossiping in his hearing range." Clarice's British accent spills out elegantly.

"Then meet me here." Elena pulls a folded piece of paper and maneuvers it into Clarice's hand. "Please."

Clarice unfolds the paper halfway to see what it is advertising before handing back to Elena. "I already said I would try to make it."

"From the way you react when Stefan is around I can tell you two shared more than just a friendship. I need your help. Please come to the party tonight." Elena pleads with Clarice as she passing the paper back into her hand. Clarice's fingers wrap around the paper slowly and she nods. "Thank you."

Clarice responds with a light smile prior to turning on her heels. She walks to her car and slips into the drivers seat. She bites the inside of her lip as she thinks about what she had just agreed to. When Clarice looks up her eyes meet Stefan's as if they were magnets.

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" Lexi asks as she sits on the bed watches Clary shove her clothes into her suitcases._

"_He has made it very clear that he doesn't love me anymore. There is no use for me here." Clarice pushes down the top of her suitcase trying to clasp it shut. It stops an inch short due to over packing. Lexi sits on the lid allowing Clary to close it._

"_When he gets better, he will love you again." Lexi promises as she slips off of the suitcase._

"_You don't know that for sure, Lex." Clarice purses her lips. She digs her hand into the small pocket of her dress and pulls out an envelope. She hands it Lexi with a small smile. "Can you give this to him when he does get better?"_

"_What is it?"Lexi eyes the unopened envelope in her hands._

"_A letter expressing that my love for him was real and how truly sorry I am for letting this happen." Clarice gulps back any forming tears in her eyes._

"_This isn't your fault, Clarice. He would have gone back to his old ways eventually. It was just a matter of time."_

"_I let this happen, Lex."_

"_You had no control over…" Lexi starts._

"_Yes, I did. I saw it happening and panicked. I couldn't stop him." Clarice grabs her bags and carries them to the door. "Just give him the letter when he's better and tell him I'm sorry."_

"_Clary…" Lexi can't help but feel bad. She's watching the one perfect relationship she had ever witnessed fall to pieces in front of her very eyes._

"_Please, Lexi." Clary bites her lip as the tears fight their way onto her cheek. Lexi draws the shorter vampire into a tight hug._

"_I'll give him the letter. I promise." Lexi whispers into her friends ear. When Clarice pulls away Lexi catches her wipe away the tears running down her cheek._

"_Thank you." Clarice smiles before speeding out of the room. The faster she gets out of town, the better. She needs to forget about Stefan and the love they once shared. It's the right thing to do._

Clarice peels out of the parking spot and rapidly drives onto the main street. She doesn't lessen the pressure on the gas pedal until she reaches the driveway of her house. She runs up the stairs at vampire speed hoping that Margaret won't make her retell today's happenings. Clarice felt things today that she hadn't felt in years. It was refreshing yet at the same time terrifying. She was never meant to fall in love with Stefan the first time and she will do whatever it takes to make sure history never repeats itself.

****Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be up soon and it will be longer. Please review with any thoughts, comments, or suggestions. I love reading them. Thank you for reading!**

**P.S: Please check out the youtube trailer for this fanfic and the other two fanfics I'm writing. The links are on my profile.**


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